The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended the licences of two Alliance Air pilots for “jeopardising the safety of the aircraft and its occupants” on a March 12 Delhi-Jabalpur flight that was involved in a runway excursion incident.
An ATR 72-600 aircraft operated by state-owned Alliance Air had overshot the runway after landing at Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh on March 12. Even as all 55 passengers and five crew members on board were safe, the airline had de-rostered the pilots then.
A senior DGCA official told: “During the investigation, it was found that at the time of landing, the aircraft floated for a long period and touched down approximately 900 metres after the aiming point. The decision of the ‘pilot flying’ to continue despite the long float resulted in a long landing and subsequently runway excursion. The non-flying pilot (who monitors the various instruments) did not call out for go-around.”
“The above action/inaction of the crew has jeopardised the safety of the aircraft and its occupants and is in violation of the Aircraft Rules 1937 and Civil Aviation Requirement. The privileges of the licences held by both the operating crew have been suspended for a period of one year,” the official added.
